In The Last Moment
by Amonshy
Summary: Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him? Warning: Suicide (attempt?), Mentions of cutting and abuse.
1. Chapter 1: Nightly Rounds

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)

Nice that you found your way here. This is my first Harry Potter fan-fiction. It's supposed to be a short story but I'm not sure since it's not finished yet so it might be a little longer. Also there may be a longer Sequel or a few more chapters. Tell me what you think. Oh also English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the first chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

**Warnings:** Suicide (attempt?); That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

**Disclaimers:** As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

* * *

**In the Last ****Moment**

**Chapter 1: Nightly Rounds**

It was late at night when Potions Master Severus Snape made his rounds through the corridors looking for students who were out of bed.

He was almost finished and on his way to bed when he passed the door that led to the stairs to the astronomy tower. The door was usually locked and warded so Severus almost ignored it and passed by without checking like he usually did.

But this time something felt different. Professor Snape didn't know what it was but he suddenly had a very bad feeling.

He turned back and looked at the door again. It didn't look like it had been opened but he decided to check anyway just to make sure. After all Severus hardly had a feeling of foreboding when nothing was amiss. It usually meant that something was really wrong or something really bad was about to happen. So of course he would try to find out what was happening.

The Potions Master tried to turn the handle and found that the door was indeed locked.

Next he pulled out his wand and checked the wards. Only to find them undisturbed as well.

And yet the feeling didn't subside. If anything it was just the opposite and it grew steadily stronger.

He wondered what was going on. Why did he feel the need to go up to the tower? It was still locked and warded after all. So there was no way that there was any student up there, was there?

Professor Snape decided to make sure. After all it wouldn't do if something happened on his watch and if he did indeed find a student up there then he could take points and give a detention. He still had a few nice cauldrons with substances that were hard to get off from his last experiments that they could scrub.

The Potions Master unlocked the door and made his way up the stairs. At first he walked slowly but then he got faster feeling that he was somehow running out of time.

Finally at the top of the stairs Severus pushed the door to the tower open and froze.

As soon as he opened the door and stepped into the tower Snape knew the reason for his feeling of foreboding.

There stood a student on top of the windowsill with one of his hands holding onto the wall besides the window.

But his arm was outstretched so there was no way the student could prevent a fall should he slip. Not that it looked like he had any intention of stopping it. Because just as Professor Snape stepped into the room the student started to lean forward.

Severus was just about to say something when the student let go of the wall and fell out of the window.

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**Authors Note:** Sorry for the short chapter. There will be another short one and then the chapters should get longer. =)

I hope you liked it anyway. Please Review and tell me. =)


	2. Chapter 2: The Jump

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the second chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

**Warnings:**Suicide (attempt?); That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

**Disclaimers:**As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank Cassandra30, OfRedvinesAndKlisses, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore and Reiha Sakurai for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my first chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. And sorry to Mark-Ray-Grey for the cliffhanger but since this is still an ongoing story it's not unusual.

* * *

**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 2****: The Jump**

It was late at night and Harry Potter lay asleep in his bed in the Gryffindor-dorm-rooms with the curtains closed. But it wasn't a restful sleep. He was tossing and turning muttering quietly. At least it looked like he was muttering but no sound was heard.

Suddenly Harry awoke with a shout and shot upright in bed. But again everything stayed completely silent except for the snoring of the other boys in the room.

He looked wildly around breathing hard and drenched in sweat but slowly calmed down when he realized where he was and Harry was glad that he had put up silencing charms around his bed when he realized what had happened. After all he didn't want to wake the other boys up again.

Especially Ronald Weasley, his best friend. He would only ask lots of questions again not understanding that Harry didn't want to talk about it and accusing him of keeping secrets from him and telling him that best friends should tell each other everything. "_As if Ron really could handle knowing all of my secrets_", he thought bitterly.

He'd had nightmares almost every night for weeks and if he didn't then it was because he had a vision about what Voldemort was doing and that really wasn't any better then his normal nightmares.

At least he thought they were visions he hadn't really talked to anyone about it. Not after he had tried to tell Ron and Hermine when they had pestered him about telling him what was wrong at the end of the last semester. But they had only brushed them of as nightmares and said that it was normal after what had happened.

Not that it really mattered, Harry thought, after all he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully either way and he'd had enough. Harry couldn't stand watching people get hurt or even killed every night anymore. And if it wasn't Voldemort and his followers then it was his uncle and sometimes that was even worse. Especially when he woke up screaming and woke his uncle up...

Harry shuddered at the memory and was glad that he had learned to cast wand-less silencing spells over the summer. He hadn't known that that was even possible but he guessed that it was his survival-instincts trying to save him.

Not that it mattered how he did it. Harry was just glad that he could do it somehow or he probably wouldn't have survived the summer.

"_But well if I hadn't then the pain would at least be over finally_", Harry thought tiredly.

He was tired of living in pain and with feeling constantly hungry. He was tired of always being afraid and always having to watch his back.

Harry just wanted to feel safe for once in his life and be able to relax without fearing the consequences.

He knew he wouldn't be able to get anymore sleep that night and Harry couldn't stand laying quietly in his bed because that gave him too much time to think.

So the boy-who-lived decided to go for a walk. He quietly got up making sure the curtains were closed again around his bed so one couldn't immediately see that he wasn't there and got dressed.

Then Harry sneaked out of the dorm-room and quickly left the Gryffindor common-room before anyone noticed him. Not that anyone else seemed to be up at that hour but better to not take any chances of getting stopped before he even left the dorms.

He wandered around the empty corridors for a while enjoying the cold night-air until he suddenly stopped besides a door.

The boy turned and looked at it. He knew that it lead to the Astronomy Tower and he somehow felt drawn to that place.

Harry looked around to make sure that no one was coming and then tried to open the door.

"_Damn, it's locked._" He thought disappointed.

But then Harry suddenly felt a burst of magic and he could turn the doorknob that he still had in his hand. Harry wondered what that had been but then decided that it didn't matter. The door was open after all and he still felt drawn up the stairs.

So the boy looked around one more time and then quietly opened the door wider and sneaked inside closing the door behind him.

As Harry turned and started to go up the stairs he thought that he felt another burst of magic from the door but he decided to ignore it. It didn't matter either.

So he quickly went upstairs until he reached another door. Opening it Harry finally found himself in the Astronomy Tower.

The boy sighed and quietly closed the door behind himself. Not that he had to be quiet. He was far enough away from all others so that they wouldn't hear him up there after all. Well unless he was really noisy and even then someone had to be awake and in the area to hear him.

But Harry didn't want to take any chances. For some reason he felt that he had to make sure that no-one found him although he wasn't sure why.

As he walked into the tower he went towards the window that looked out over grounds and the lake a little further away.

It was a beautiful night. The moon was almost full and reflected in the water.

Everything looked so peaceful and Harry longed for some peace of his own.

"_Why can't I have some peace for once? Something always happens to me..."_He thought bitterly leaning against the railing. He stopped suddenly and looked down.

It couldn't be that easy, could it? Well the tower certainly was high enough so that one wouldn't survive a fall from it, but...

"What the hell am I thinking?" Harry exclaimed shocked interrupting his own dark thoughts.

He couldn't seriously be considering jumping off the Astronomy Tower, could he?

"Where are these thoughts coming from all of a sudden? I never contemplated suicide before after all... well... not seriously..." Harry wondered looking down again at the ground several dozen meters below.

He just stared down for several minutes and then without even thinking about it Harry carefully climbed up on the railing as if he was in a trance.

A strong gust of wind brought him out of it and he blinked a few times confused and looked around wondering what had happened.

Harry started when he realized that he wasn't standing at the railing anymore but on top of it!

"How the hell did that happen?", he asked himself holding tightly to the wall next to the window to prevent himself from falling.

But as he thought more about it he began to wonder. His life had always been difficult after all but he had never seriously considered ending it before. There had been a few times he'd had fleeting thoughts about it. Mostly after a really bad beating from his uncle...

"Okay, better not think about him...", Harry shuddered when he remembered the last summer. It had been especially bad. Not that it mattered. Dumbledore would never let him stay somewhere else because he was safe at Privet Drive.

Harry snorted at that. "_If the Deatheaters don't find a way through the wards then my uncle __will kill me someday._", Harry thought bitterly.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all. Because surely his uncle would kill him slow and really painfully especially since every year the beatings seemed to get worse. Compared to that jumping of the Astronomy Tower seemed to be pretty quick and painless.

As Harry thought that he didn't notice the door to the tower banging open or the person that rushed in only to stop in his tracks with a shocked expression upon seeing him standing so close to the ledge.

Nor did he notice that he'd started to lean forward over the edge.

And with a last thought that it would end the nightmares and the pain Harry let go of the wall and fell feeling free in the end before everything started to go black.

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**Authors Note:** Well this chapter turned out longer than I had previously thought and it already was longer than the last one. =)  
I hope you liked it. Please Review and tell me. =)


	3. Chapter 3: Too Close

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the third chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

A little chapter that I decided to upload already since you had to wait so long for the last chapter. But I'm already working o the next so it shouldn't take that long this time since it's the holidays.

**Warnings:** Suicide attempt; That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

Really short references to cutting but no one actually doing it.

**Disclaimers:**As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, autumngold, Don'tSleep and marksmom for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my second chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. And _Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore_: You really are fast. I just barely finished uploading my chapter and your review was already there a minute later. =)

* * *

**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 3****: Too Close**

Severus watched shocked as the student disappeared from the window for a moment before he pulled himself together and ran to the window as fast as he could.

When he reached it he was already too late to grab the student to pull him back up. So he let his wand fall from his sleeve and pointed it at the child immediately shooting a levitation charm at him.

Professor Snape let out the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding when he caught him and was glad that he was used to acting at a moments notice because had he hesitated for even a few seconds it would have been too late to catch him even with a spell.

But he could think about that later. First he had to pull the student up and make sure he was alright... Or at least not hurt from the fall. After all if he was alright then he wouldn't have jumped of the Astronomy tower. But he was getting off topic again.

Severus used the levitation charm to slowly pull the student back up to the window. As the child got closer he leaned away from the ledge and stepped out of the way so he could levitate him through the window and lower him to the floor.

He sighed in relief when he had him safely in the tower and took a moment to slow down his rapidly beating heart.

The Potions Master looked down at the student who was lying on his side hiding his face beneath his arm but it really seemed to be a boy considering the short hair.

He slowly kneed down besides him and pulled his arm out of the way so he could see who he was dealing with.

"Potter!", Severus exclaimed shocked as soon as he saw just who it was.

He just stared at him for a moment. "_That doesn't make sense. Why the hell would Griffindors Golden Boy, the damn savior of the Wizarding World, who got everything he wanted jump off the astronomy tower?_", he quietly wondered to himself.

Usually he would have said that the brat wanted even more attention but even Potter couldn't be that stupid especially if there was no one around to see it and stop him at this time of the night. It just didn't make sense.

Professor Snape carefully checked the boy over while he thought this. After all it wouldn't do for a student to get hurt during his watch even if it was the most infuriating one of the brats.

It seemed that he'd hit the tower somewhere during his fall because he had a slight bump on his head but apart from that he seemed fine but he couldn't help but pull up the boys sleeves and have a look at his wrists as well.

Severus frowned when he saw his wrists and carefully ran his fingers over the scars.

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**Authors Note:** I hope you liked the third chapter. Please Review and tell me. =) Ana as I said you can also tell me if I made a mistake and tell me what I can do better. Just no flames, if you don't like it then you obviously don't have to read it.


	4. Chapter 4: Leaving the Tower

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the fourth chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

**Warnings:** Suicide attempt; That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

Really short references to cutting but no one actually doing it.

**Disclaimers:**As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank autumngold, Sapphire Gray Black, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, Thatsallwegot and feuerkitten for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my third chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. =)

* * *

**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 4****: Leaving the Tower**

Professor Snape examined the scars on Harry's wrists carefully and his frown deepened.

They didn't look like the boy had gotten them by cutting himself but rather that he had been tied up too tight.

"_But when had that happened?_", Severus wondered not remembering ever seeing them before. "_Probably during one of their idiotic adventures._"

But he'd seen the boys arms at the end of last term and as far as he remembered there hadn't been any scars then and he had a pretty good memory.

So just when had Potter gotten those? As far as he knew he hadn't been on any stupid adventures yet this term and the scars looked slightly older anyway.

Severus decided to think about that more later. First he had to get the brat off of the Astronomy Tower and somewhere warmer before he got sick on top of everything. After all it was especially chilly on top of the highest tower of the school and the cold wind didn't help either.

He went over to the door and opened it. Then the professor looked at the stairs for a moment before deciding that it would be easier and faster if he just carried the boy, instead of levitating him around the many corners that the stairs went. Besides it's not like anyone would see them and Potter was still unconscious.

The Potions Master went back to the boys side and picked him up carefully. He frowned at his weight. Wasn't the brat eating either?

"The food is probably not good enough for the golden boy-who-lived", Severus scoffed although he was slightly worried. Potter obviously had more issues than any of them knew and he hadn't suspected a thing until he found him on the tower.

So it probably was a recent development. After all the brat couldn't have hidden it from him all this time. He was a terrible liar after all and always pretty obvious when he was up to something. No, he would have noticed if it had been going on for longer.

Besides he'd spend quite some time in the hospital wing every year because of his foolishness and surely Madam Pomfrey would have noticed something.

Thinking of Madam Pomfrey, she was probably already asleep since it was well past midnight.

Professor Snape sighed. There wasn't really a reason to wake her up. The brat wasn't injured seriously after all and it wasn't anything he couldn't handle himself. It was just a small bump! Although Potter should have woken up by now...

Severus looked at the child in his arm more closely while he carried him down the steps. He had dark bags under his eyes and looked exhausted even unconscious. So that was probably the reason why he hadn't waken up yet, he decided.

"I'll just take him to my quarters for now", the Potions Master muttered quietly to himself, although he couldn't quite believe that he was taking a student into his private rooms, especially Griffindors golden boy.

Well at least he would be able to get some answers out of Potter this way and he could still send him of to the infirmary first thing in the morning.

So he continued on to the dungeons.

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**Authors Note:** I hope you liked the fourth chapter. Please Review and tell me. =) And as I said you can also tell me if I made a mistake and tell me what I can do better. Just no flames, if you don't like it then you obviously don't have to read it.

Well... It's a short chapter again but hopefully they'll get longer again once Harry wakes up.


	5. Chapter 5: Reaching the Dungeons

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the fifth chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

**Warnings:** Suicide attempt; That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

Really short references to cutting but no one actually doing it.

**Disclaimers:**As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank Sapphire Gray Black, autumngold, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore and Linda for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my fourth chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. =)

And special thanks to **Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore**! I really appreciate that you told me what I could do better to improve my writing and I hope that you'll continue doing that. Not many people take the time to do so after all. I changed it right away and hope it's a little bit better now. Thanks. =)

* * *

**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 5****: Reaching the Dungeons**

When Professor Snape finally reached his quarters in the dungeons, he quietly told the password to the portrait that guarded the entrance. Even thought he doubted anyone would hear him. He waited irritated for it to open when the potion master in it curiously studied the boy in his arms for a moment before finally swinging the door open.

Severus scowled at the portrait for a moment before stepping through the doorway and walking across his living room straight to his guest-room, while the portrait swung shut behind him.

He strode over to the bed and carefully lowered his still unconscious burden onto it before he looked around the room. After a few quick cleaning charms to get rid of all the dust that had covered the room, he turned back to the boy.

Potter was pretty pale and looked quite a bit younger than he actually was. He could actually go for a second year or a small third year. But if they didn't know who he was, he doubted that anyone would believe that he actually was a fifth year student.

The frown on the Potion Masters face deepened again when he noticed this. How come he hadn't noticed before that the boy had barely grown from when he started at Hogwarts five years ago? And thinking back now, he had already been shorter than his year-mates back then.

But then again when had he ever cared about the Potter brat unless he had to save him from his own foolishness. He had always just seen him as the exact copy of James-bloody-Potter, his tormentor during his own Hogwarts years.

But James Potter had never been small. In fact he'd always been one of the tallest of their year-mates and Lily hadn't been short either.

So how come their son was so much smaller? Surely it couldn't be just because he was a picky eater.

Severus decided to just watch how much the boy ate the next few days. He would decide then if something should be done about it. But a few nutrient potions could be helpful to get the boy to put on some weight.

For now he should just get him in bed so Potter could get some, from the looks of it, much needed sleep. And then he could get some rest as well.

So Professor Snape pulled off the boys shoes and took off his school-robe. Before he pulled out his wand and transfigured the rest of his clothes into some pajamas.

He then pull up the blankets and made to leave the guestroom. But he stopped in the doorway and turned back to the bed. The professor cast a few charms to let him know when the boy woke up or something was wrong. Just to be on the safe side. After all it wouldn't do if the boy woke up and decided to finish what he started on the tower.

Finished with that, he left the room after a last glance at the brat, before he got ready to sleep as well.

* * *

Severus sighed when he finally laid down in his own bed. He really hadn't expected this much trouble when he'd started with his rounds that night. Maybe some rule-breaking students that were up to some no good. But not one of them nearly killing themselves.

And he still wasn't any closer to getting at least some answers. It actually was quite the opposite really. He had more questions the longer Potter stayed with him it seemed. The boy really was infuriating. Nothing was ever simple with him and he constantly found new ways to get in trouble.

"_And how come his annoying friends didn't notice anything wrong with their friend? They were always together after all. Or had they? And just not informed any of the professors?_", Severus wondered.

"_Because if they'd told Minerva, she surely would have informed the other professors that something was wrong with her golden boy_", Severus scoffed. "_Of course she would have. She'd just made a big spectacle the other day, because Umbridge had hit the hand of one of her little lions with a ruler._"

Minerva still fumed about it and of course she wouldn't have kept it quiet if Potter was in some kind of trouble either. She would have been adamant about everyone doing what they can to help him. Just as always. The Potter brat lands himself in trouble and everyone is expected to immediately jump in to rescue him.

Severus was getting angry now, remembering all the times he'd been told to look out for him. Really it would be easier, if they just taught the arrogant boy that the school-rules apply to him as well as everyone else.

But he can think more about that tomorrow and then get some answers out of the boy as well. For now he should just get at least a few hours of sleep.

Luckily tomorrow was a Saturday so he could hopefully sleep a little longer than usual. And still have enough time to deal with Potter, before he had to visit with his Slytherin's to make sure that they were doing alright.

He often spend some time in their common-room so they could approach him, should they have questions concerning their studies or other problems, and didn't want to go to his office. Although they usually solved the questions concerning homework in their study-groups.

But that was a task for tomorrow. Now it was time to finally get some sleep. So Severus turned onto his side and cleared his mind of those annoying thoughts.

A few minutes later he fell asleep.

* * *

Unfortunately Professor Snape was abruptly awoken not even two hours later by an ear-piercing scream and the wards on his guestroom activating. Not that he needed them right then. It was pretty obvious that something was wrong, as the shout still rang through his quarters.

* * *

**Authors Note:** I hope you liked the fifth chapter. Please Review and tell me. =)


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmare

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the sixth chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

**Warnings:** Suicide attempt; That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

Really short references to cutting but no one actually doing it.

And as most of you probably already guessed, there will be mentions of abuse as well.

**Disclaimers:**As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank ShotgunRedneck, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, Sapphire Gray Black, Thatsallwegot, autumngold and Cassandra30 for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my fifth chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. =)

Thank you Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore. Happy New Year to you as well and of course to all other readers too. Completely forgot that in my last chapter. Well better late than never. =)

* * *

**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 6****: Nightmare**

Professor Snape shot up in bed wide awake as soon as the scream started. He'd grabbed his wand from his bedside table and was halfway to the guest-room before it ended.

He quickly passed the rest of the way to the room and quietly opened the door, rising his wand.

Then Severus glanced around the room, looking for intruders. Although he knew that no one could easily pass through the wards he had around his quarters. Even the other teachers didn't come in unless he let them. But better to be careful anyway.

Finding no one there as expected, the Potions Master turned towards the bed.

Potter was tossing and turning in his sleep. The covers halfway thrown off of the bed and his legs tangled in the blanket. The boy was still quietly muttering to himself from time to time but he had stopped screaming.

Severus walked up to the bed to get a better look. He was covered in sweat and was tightly gripping the sheets and clenching his jaw tightly, when he wasn't murmuring. It looked almost as if the boy was forcing himself not to scream again.

Wanting to put an end to this, Professor Snape reached for Potter's shoulder to shake him awake. But as soon as he touched the boy, he let out another ear-piercing scream while trying to pull away from him.

After a moment the child tightly clenched his jaw shut again, before the muttering got slightly louder than before and the struggling intensified.

Severus let go of Potter's shoulder and leaned slightly closer to better be able to understand what the boy was murmuring about. But all he could make out was "Sorry", and that was repeated a few times, before he gave up and leaned back again.

What was the boy apologizing for and why did he sound so scared; almost desperate? Was he relieving one of his encounters with the Dark Lord? But why was he apologizing then, the professor wondered.

"_Great, just more questions instead of finally getting some answers_", he thought irritated.

Well just more to think about later. For now he had to wake Potter up. After all it was pointless to just stand there all night and he couldn't go back to sleep until the brat was quiet.

So Professor Snape reached for the boys shoulder again and shook him slightly. This time Potter didn't scream, but he tensed completely for a moment, before he tried to pull away from his hand again.

But this time Severus just tightened his grip slightly and shook him again, a little harder this time.

"Potter, wake up!", the Potions Master demanded, shaking him again.

Still the boy didn't wake up, but at least he stopped moving around and the annoying muttering ended as well as soon as he heard his professors voice. Professor Snape frowned slightly when he observed this.

The boy was obviously still asleep and even if it didn't look completely peaceful, at least he'd calmed down. So he decided to just let the brat sleep and get back to his own bed as well.

As soon as he let go of Potter's shoulder, the boy rolled over onto his side, so he now lay with his back facing him.

Severus sighted. That only managed to entangle his legs even more in the blankets.

He reached out to free the boy and more importantly to get the covers off of the ground, before they got even dirtier. Speaking of dirty, the brat was still covered in sweat. So he threw a quick cleaning charm at him as soon as he had him freed.

Potter really was even more work than he'd first thought when he'd decided to take him to his guest-room. Maybe he should have just taken him to the hospital wing after all and let Madam Pomfrey deal with him. But too late for that now. He would just send him there in the morning.

Professor Snape placed the blankets back on the bed. And he was just about to pull them up to cover the boy, when he noticed that the boy's shirt had ridden up, so that the lower part of his back was exposed.

Not that he cared about that now. There on Potter's back was a red wound, that almost looked like a still pretty new scar.

Severus frowned. The boy must have hit the tower more often than he'd previously thought, since he'd obviously missed some injuries the first time he'd examined him on top of the Astronomy Tower.

Professor Snape reached out for the boy's shirt and carefully pulled it up some more to get a better look at the wound. His frown deepened when even more wounds were exposed. Potter couldn't have hit the tower that often.

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**Authors Note:** I hope you liked the sixth chapter. Please Review and tell me. =)


	7. Chapter 7: Scars

**Authors Note: **Hi everyone! =)  
Nice that you decided to continue reading this story. As I said English is not my mother-language so please tell me if I made any mistakes. Well I hope you'll enjoy the seventh chapter of my story. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of it. Even if it's not good tell me what I can do better. Just be nice. =)

And sorry for the long wait. I was busy with exams. =(

**Warnings:** Suicide attempt; That really is no way to solve ones problems so don't do it, ask for help if you have problems.

Really short references to cutting but no one actually doing it.

And as most of you probably already guessed, there will be mentions of abuse as well.

**Disclaimers:** As you probably all know I don't own Harry Potter. Joanne K. Rowling does.

**Summary:** Snape finds Harry in the middle of the night on top of the Astronomy Tower. Can he save him?

**Thanks:** I want to thank autumngold, Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore, ShotgunRedneck, Sapphire Gray Black, Ylterces A, bloodytears87 and To the TARDIS for the nice reviews. I'm glad you liked my sixth chapter and hope that you enjoy this one as well. =)

And again special thanks to Harry Albus Potter Dumbledore for correcting some mistakes I made. Thank you! =)

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**In the Last Moment**

**Chapter 7****: Scars**

Severus Snape pulled out his wand again and spelled Harry's shirt off to get a better look.

His face darkened at what he saw. The boy's whole back was covered in angry red welts that definitely didn't come from hitting a tower-wall. There were also dozens of older scars. Some of them looked to be years old.

Looking closer the professor noticed that there were even some scars on the back of the arm that the boy wasn't lying on. And the other arm probably didn't look any better.

And as if that wasn't enough, the wounds also reached down to the waistband of his pajama bottoms. So Severus pushed the blanket to the bottom of the bed and spelled off Harry's trousers as well, leaving him in his underwear.

Snape's face darkened even further when he saw that the boy's legs were covered in scars as well. Most looked old but there was a newer scar across the top of his thighs that made sitting probably quite painful. Especially if one was forced to sit for longer periods of time.

Although that would probably explain the boy's constant fidgeting during class and why he usually sat on the edge of his chair. But even then he couldn't sit still for long.

The Potions Master sighed. This really wasn't what he'd been expecting tonight.

It just didn't make sense. This was Gryffindor's Golden Boy, the Savior of the wizarding world after all. The spoiled brat that lived with his doting relatives and got everything he wanted without ever doing anything for it.

Albus Dumbledore had assured them that Potter was save and getting everything he needed from his loving relatives, every time someone asked after him during the Order meetings. And that had happened almost every meeting, mostly by the damn werewolf Lupin and Molly Weasley.

"_And why would the headmaster lie?... Unless he didn't know._" But that sounded unlikely. After all he had frequently checked up upon the boy and surely even he would notice abuse.

Unless it hadn't been his relatives that hurt him, but someone outside of the family. But that sounded even more unlikely. Because if his relatives did everything for him, then surely Potter would have run to them the first time that someone hurt him. And...

Severus was interrupted from his thoughts when he noticed that Harry had started shivering and was curling up tighter to keep warm. Which wasn't really surprising, after all it wasn't exactly warm in the dungeons.

He silently swore to himself and slowly pulled the covers back over the boy, careful to not rub them over the newer wounds. No need to aggravate them even more after all.

Snape really should have done so sooner, instead of getting lost in thought. After all he didn't really need to look after a sick child on top of everything.

But enough of that. Firstly he should heal at least some of Potter's injuries. Once that was taken care of, he could think about all of this some more. Or try to get a few more hours of sleep. But for now he had to concentrate on the more important things.

Then he could examine the boy more closely tomorrow, when he's awake, and hopefully finally get some answers.

The Potions Master sighed. Taking the boy to the hospital wing really would have been a lot easier and a lot less frustrating. But he was probably more qualified to take care of this matter. Because even though Madame Pomfrey was an excellent healer, he definitely had more experience when it came to dealing with abused children.

Besides he had all the potions he could need anyway. Probably even more than the hospital wing.

Severus quietly left the room to get a healing salve and some pain relievers, one in the form of another salve and the other a potion in case the boy woke up. Although he doubted that he would, but he didn't want him to start fussing when he was healing him.

Walking back into the guest-room, the professor placed them on the night-table and then carefully pulled the blankets down to the bottom of the bed again.

Then he sat on the side of the bed and quickly started applying the creams to the boy's body. Or at least the parts he could reach while the boy was still curled up. But he seemed to be able to get to the worst wounds and he didn't want to move the boy and risk waking him up. He could treat the rest of the injuries later after all since the weren't live threatening.

So the Potions Master just waited a few moments until both salves had started working. Then he spelled the boy's pajamas back on and covered him with the blanket again.

Deciding that Potter would be fine for a while, he started his way back to his own room. Only pausing for a moment in the door to put up new charms to notify him in case that something was wrong. And then he was off to bed again for hopefully a few more hours of sleep.

"But knowing the brat he'll probably wake up early only to annoy me," Severus muttered quietly to himself before falling asleep.

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**Authors Note:** I hope you liked the seventh chapter. Please Review and tell me. =)


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